Just as most gyms see an influx of members in the beginning of the year, the summer tends to be the exact opposite. Vacations, barbecues, boating, kids off of schools, lounging around the pool… there seem to be many ‘reasons’ why people tend to disappear during the summer months. Most of us would agree that we have a particular lifestyle, and while it is important to have balance and enjoy life, don’t let yourself fall too far off the path. There is a VERY easy way to keep up your endurance and maintain your body fat levels during the summer with minimal time in the gym-
MAX-OT cardio.
HIIT is not new, but MAX-OT cardio embodies High Intensity Interval Training to the max (see what I did there) before the acronym was a ‘thing’.
Max-OT cardio follows these basic rules-
That’s it. Pretty easy, right? Well, sort of. Look at it this way- would you come in every day and squat 150lbs for the same amount of reps and sets every time you come in? No, that doesn’t make sense. You gradually increase your overall output each session albeit increased weight/reps/volume to continue progress. While steady state cardio absolutely has a place in training, if that is all that you do, you will quickly find your progress has stopped.
16 minutes. Even the busiest of people can squeeze that in a couple times a week. The key is INTENSITY. With staggered intervals, you will only be going at max effort for roughly 50% of the time, so on the high intervals, you really must push yourself, hard (ease into this your first time). Record your resistance level, distance, calories burned, and any other metrics after session number one, from there on out, work to better that EACH and EVERY time. You may only beat your distance by 1/10th of a mile, or match your distance but with an increased resistance level, either is fine. The key is progression. You can see that after only a few sessions, it will get grueling. Every session will be the hardest you have ever pushed.
Pick a machine that you do not have to worry about hurting yourself or falling. You want to be able to put on some good music, and crank it out. A treadmill is not the best option for this. A recumbent bike, elliptical, precor constrainer, or row machine would be the best choices.
*Special consideration*
This is an animal of a workout. This will accelerate fat loss and greatly increase your aerobic capacity, but it can also be highly catabolic if you do not recover properly. It is recommended to supplement with some type of whey protein or BCAA immediately after. DO NOT be concerned with consuming a small amount of calories right after. You will already be in a calorie deficit afterwards anyway, especially with how many calories you will continue to burn afterwards. Initiating MPS (muscle protein synthesis) and staying anabolic is very important to maximize your fat loss.
Rotating Max-OT cardio in with the rest of your training program can be a great way to maximize your time in the gym, while allowing you the opportunity to have more free time to enjoy other activities.
Paul Emmick
No comments:
Post a Comment